How to Bluff Call

[roo27]

How to Bluff Call

You call a pre-flop raiser with 8s 4s (how can you get away with such a loose call? Because you know how to execute plays like the following).
The flop comes Kh 9c 9s. Your opponent makes a sizeable bet. You flat call. Why did you flat call? You have no hand and no draw! Let's see. The turn is the 3c. Your opponent makes a pot sized bet. Suddenly, you raise all-in. Your opponent goes into the tank, then grimly tosses in his AA face up. "Good laydown," you say with a smile as you rake in the pot.

How the Bluff Call Works

Could this really happen Yes. It requires that your opponent be savvy enough to understand what is going on in the hand, rather than a player who simply plays his own cards obliviously. However if your opponent has even a modicum of observational skill, it can work. Here's how. Imagine if you held 8s 9d on that flop. Your pre-flop raiser bets. Would you re-raise? Probably not. You have a monster and your unsuspecting opponent is leading into you. Most players will choose to trap here, and let the raiser hang himself rather than alerting him to your hand strength and letting him wriggle away. Now the 3c comes and your opponent bets. What's the situation now? Suddenly there is a flush draw out there. In addition, your opponent may be close to pot committed. It's a perfect time to make your move and take it down. As long as your opponent can follow this reasoning process (and isn't sitting with KK or A9), your bluff call should win you the pot.

On the other hand, if you raise on the flop, your opponent may well reason that you would never raise with such a strong hand as trips and are making a move . He may decide that he will take his chances with his AA since there is not enough evidence to suggest he is beaten. In this instance a bluff call is more likely to be the winning play. Note that if you do flop trips, you may want to make the exact opposite of this move, betting out figuring your opponent will assume you would not raise with such a strong flop .

Bluff Call Notes

You should try to have a good read on your opponent before you try this move. If your opponent never believes anybody or only plays his own hand, you are much better off waiting for a strong hand and value betting into him in order to relieve him of his chips. Also it will help if you can make some observations about how this player behaves when the flop hits him, as this may give you a clue for when your move will work. You may also try a draw bluff call, where you flat call a two-suited board and then make a big bet when a third of a suit hits the board, even if you don't really have that suit.

[HopeImLucky]

I have played this before, almost exactly as you described and my opponent DID fold.

The only difference was I had pocket kings at the time and flopped another. Obviously my opponent didn't know that, but he read the board and my play and he must have decided discretion was the better part of valour.

At the time I was patting myself on the back for a well-deserved win. However, having read this, I realise that it could work no matter what cards you have in your hand. Obviously, it depends on your table image and on your opponent playing tight or loose - but don't most hands?

Thank you roo for this insight